Well this should make for an inneresting summer!
According to Europe’s top sports federation, Russia is probably going to miss the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro!
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The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) banned Russia indefinitely after the World Anti-Doping Agency uncovered Russian athletes in a variety of sports using banned substances.
The report went even further than that, though, and claimed the Russian government had knowledge of the doping program — and was even helping the athletes to acquire and use the illegal substances!
European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen reacted to the news in an interview:
“For the moment they have to fulfill the conditions, but I cannot really see them competing in Rio. We will have the first report to the IAAF in March but for the moment they have to really, really put a lot of effort in to compete in Rio. They must have a cultural change. They must get rid of all those people from before.”
Yikes!!
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While Russia has denied the allegations, President Vladimir Putin (pictured above) did acknowledge doping as an unacceptable action:
“The struggle with doping in sports, unfortunately, remains a pressing issue and it requires unending attention … It’s absolutely clear that athletes who stay away from dope shouldn’t be held responsible [for those who do].”
We’ll see what happens soon enough… because the Olympics are just about six months away!
Are you ready?!
[Image via IPA/WENN.]